Lopsided Halos
by hbananad
Summary: A second life means a second death. But due to circumstances, the ghosts that were once Organization XIII aren't allowed in their Afterlife yet. How do they earn the right? By becoming Guardian Angels, of course! AU. Still taking pairing requests.
1. Death

Title: Lopsided Halos

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Summary: A second life means a second death. But due to circumstances, the ghosts that were once Organization XIII aren't allowed in their Afterlife yet. Because they were Nobodies, they must first earn the right. How? By becoming Guardian Angels, of course!

Genre: Humor

Rating: Should be safe for everyone...

Disclaimer: I only own the plot idea. Nothing else. Sadly for me.

A/N: I would greatly appreciate it if any spelling or grammatical errors, OOCness, or other mistakes are pointed out. If you need anything explained, feel free to ask.

***#Chapter One: Death#***

They say all stories start with beginning. This is true.

They also say that all stories start with a birth. This is only mostly true. Why? Because to get to the beginning of this story, you have to go through birth, life, and all sorts of annoying things.

But the start of this story really is not birth. It's death. 13 deaths, to be precise.

***#I#***

Pain. That was all that registered. One moment, I was perfectly fine, the next my chest was consumed with fire.

I dimly heard someone saying something about CPR and 911, and then...

Nothing.

***#II#***

I heard the shouted warning, but didn't have time to react.

The closest sensation to this I can think of at this moment is being kicked by a mule. Only much, much worse.

I think I'm in shock. I look down and see my chest covered in blood, and I feel detached. Like it's not my blood I'm seeing.

And then I don't see anything at all.

***#III#***

I claw at the chain that's wrapped around my neck. This isn't good. But I need to remain calm... it's not like I have any air left for a panic attack.

Who knew slipping could have such consequences?

***#IV#***

Let it be official: I HATE field research. If it didn't exist, I wouldn't out here, slowly freezing to death. I'm pretty sure I'm hypothermic by now. I can't feel most of my limbs. I'm frostbitten in places I didn't know existed.

Bah. I don't have any energy to try and stay awake anymore. All I want to do is sleep...

They all say 'Don't fall asleep. Keep moving.'

But I don't listen. I don't have anything left to keep going on. So I let myself fall into the snow, let my eyes drift shut.

Even though I know they won't open again.

***#V#***

I heard the rumble. I looked up and saw a cascading wall of rocks. There wasn't anywhere to hide. Wasn't any time to run.

When the avalanche hit, there wasn't even time for much of a sensation of pain.

***#VI#***

I knew I was going to die. The cancer was too far along for them to do anything about it. So it was just a waiting game at this point. That's all I could do. Wait to die. From a stupid bunch of cells in my brain that missed some important strand of DNA and mutated. I'm going to die from a brain tumor _and no one can do anything._ Least of all me.

But I hate not being in control. I also don't particularly like pain.

So I made a decision. I wrote my letter. I told them why. I made sure to tell them not to be sad, that this was the way I choose.

Then I went to sleep.

Making certain that I would never wake up.

***#VII#***

I was under the impression that Animal Control was supposed to make sure there were no FREAKING RABID WOLVES running around.

Guess they missed one.

I'm bleeding from so many places I've lost count, it's just barely missed taking my eye out _twice,_ and I'm fairly sure that my skull is fractured.

I felt its teeth on my throat, smelled the coppery scent of my blood, and then it all just...

... faded away.

***#VIII#***

Well. You know how I'm obsessed with fire? Yeah, it's not so cool when there's no way out.

Weren't they supposed to have, oh, I dunno... _fire escapes?!_

Apparently, this building had been paying off the inspectors or something...

I'm surprised I still have the energy to think. There's burns all over me, I've inhaled God-knows how much smoke, and that ceiling isn't sounding to good...

It gives one more ominous creak, then falls.

The last things I register are flashes of light, burning heat, and a searing pain across my back.

***#IX#***

The storm is a bad one. No wonder my little boat didn't stand up to it. The waves are twice as tall as me, and I'm not that short.

It's getting harder to keep my head above water. I must have swallowed gallons of the sea... I don't have any energy to keep fighting the mighty ocean.

So I stop fighting. I surrender the last of my oxygen and drift downward into the calm, quiet depths of the sea.

Into my watery grave.

***#X#***

'Freak Accident,' my foot. Large brass clocks don't just fall on people's heads. Not without help.

But, as stars dance across my vision and it starts to go grey, I really can't remember who might want to kill me.

***#XI#***

Note to self: Don't touch unknown plants without gloves on; thorns may contain poison.

As soon as the stupid thing had pierced my finger, I could feel the fire shooting through my veins. Seeing as it's an unknown - and apparently fast acting - poison, they're telling me there's no antidote.

Well, this is a pretty suckish way to die...

***#XII#***

I reached over the sink to plug in the blender, not really paying attention in favor of making sure the banana I had chosen wasn't rotten.

You know those stupid warnings on stuff? The ones that are all like "Do not use near water" even though no one reads them?

Apparently, they're there for a reason.

I felt the jolt run up my arm and spread through my body, and with one more star-burst of light, my vision went black.

***#XIII#***

I've always had a so-called 'irrational' fear of the dark. Everyone is always telling me 'the dark isn't scary' or some such nonsense.

They're wrong. The dark is a dangerous place.

Especially down here, where there's no light what-so-ever. I can't even tell if my eyes are opened or closed without reaching a hand up to check.

And that's about all the movement I can manage. There's not a lot of space down here. It's just me, some sort of beam thing keeping me from being completely crushed, and the dark down here. Under this _stupid collapsed building._

Seriously, shouldn't they make these things safer? I mean, I'm pretty sure I was the only one inside when it caved, but... maybe they don't know that. It's been a while, and I'm just stuck in a bubble of darkness and silence, except for the occasional shifting of everything piled on top of me.

The beam won't last. I know that. I've always been pretty pessimistic, but I'm pretty sure that this time the worst actually _is_ true.

I'm going to die here. Alone in the dark.

So I guess it really won't matter if I fall asleep. Maybe I won't feel it when the ceiling caves, then...

***#Elsewhere#***

Namine hummed as she sat down, fluttering her wings slightly for balance on the impressive looking but rickety chair. Another busy day at work... She adjusted her halo before opening the folder that contained the list of those under her jurisdiction.

So, who had died this week?

Upon opening the folder, her blue eyes widened. Unable to believe it, she shut the folder, stood up, turned the lights out and left the room.

Then she opened the door and turned on the lights and sat down on her delicate chair again.

The folder yielded the same contents.

"Oh, fudge."

***#Chapter One: End#***

Yay, it's done...

I have chapter two done, but it's not up here yet. That being said, who guards whom has been decided, as well as other misc information, but I would appreciate pairing suggestions.

That's not to say the story needs them, but it would make life a little more fun, I think. The only rules I have are:

*I'm not writing anything past fluffiness. It can be Yaoi, Yuri, Het, whatever, but THERE BE NO M RATED FICS HERE.

*Angels can only be paired with Angels, mortals only with mortals. Sorry if that ruins a favorite pairing of yours, but... there are reasons for that.


	2. Obesa Cantavit

*dances* Look! I got the second chapter up. Granted, it was already up on DA, and I just needed to edit it, but... I still feel overly happy about it.

I don't think I have a whole lot to say... 'Obesa cantavit' is Latin for 'The fat lady has sung.' The end. Not. But... I want that on my grave stone.

What else... Oh, right. Reviews. Thank you very much for them ^^ I find it uplifting that no one found any mistakes. Or maybe they were just too nice to tell me. But all of these are generally self-beta'd. I leave them on DA for about a week, then go and fix things.

Requests for pairings: SoraxRiku, Saix/Demyx, Leon/Cloud, AkuRoku. Any objections? Any additions. Speak now, because the next chapter will finalize most of them. Which is not to say that more can't be added later.

Also, I didn't totally forget Xion. Okay, maybe I sorta did. But that's beside the point. I'm only on day 28 of 358/2. :/ Sad, yes. But if I want to play, I have to steal my brother's DS, as I have none. Because of this, I don't really always think of her as a part of the Organization. But I love her to death, anyway. From what I've played, she's sorta Mary-Sue-ish, but then, so's Kairi, who can also be pretty awesome. I blame Disney.

The point of the above rant is to say that: Xion won't be an angel. But she gets a special part, and will most certainly show up in the next chapter!

_Quick re-cap, in case anyone didn't get how they died. Feel free to skip._

_Xemnas - Heart attack_

_Xigbar - Shot. Probably in a war zone somewhere..._

_Xaldin - Slipped, got tangled up in some chain, and suffocated_

_Vexen - Froze to death_

_Lexaeus - Crushed by an avalance_

_Zexion - Had a brain tumor, but actually died by suicide via overdose of sleeping pills_

_Saix - Mauled by a rabid wolf_

_Axel - Trapped in a burning building_

_Demyx - Drowned_

_Luxord - Clocked by a clock (pun totally intended)_

_Marluxia - Poisoned by a plant._

_Larxene - Electrocuted (by a blender)_

_Roxas - Trapped under a collapsed building_

Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue. Kay? Kay.

***#Chapter Two: Obesa Cantavit#***

Namine flew down the road. Literally. This was not considered to be unusual in any way, because she was just like everyone else here. An angel.

The unusual thing was the distress that clearly showed on her face. The Crossroads was a peaceful place, much like a calm office building. Oh, wait, that doesn't exist. Never mind. Anyway, it had to be peaceful and calm and run sort of like an office building because backups on the road to the Afterlife are NOT good things. Everything needed to be carried out in a timely, efficient manner.

Usually, Namine's supervisor was one of the best when it came to keeping things timely and efficient.

Apparently, 'usually' did not apply to today.

"RUFUS, WHAT IN THE NAME OF HEARTS **POSSESSED** YOU TO TAKE THIS ASSIGNMENT?!" The angel demanded, slamming her folder onto the other blonde's desk.

He glanced up from his paperwork. "Hello, Namine. I see you found your list..."

Namine scowled at her boss, plopping down in the chair across the desk from him. "Of course I found it. Not that I wanted to... Rufus, you _know_ my history with this. I can't. It... it just won't work."

"On the contrary, I believe that it will work out better for you than anyone else. At least give it a shot. Zack and I will help you, and because of the nature of this Assignment, we don't get any other work until it's cleared up." This apparently settled, Rufus turned back to his paperwork, making shooing motions at her. "Zack's started gathering them in the Atrium. It would probably be best for you to go help him."

Namine sighed. Much as she didn't want to admit it, he had several good points. She grabbed her folder and set out to go find Zack.

***#Luxord#***

His head hurt. That was the first thing that he noticed.

The second was that he was lying on a cloud. While this fact should have set alarm bells of in his head, it strangely did not.

The third thing that came to his attention was that someone else was there, and that someone else was talking. "-pect him to remember as much just yet, it'll take a while for both lives to come to him, he _did_ die of a concussion..."

.... **both** lives? Die? The only thing that made any sense was the bit about the concussion. Let's see... there had been a...

.... clock. Yes, that was it; the clock had fallen and hit him on the head.

So much for time being able to fly.

As soon as this piece of information was processed, it seemed to open a door. Memories were rushing in, and he was pretty sure they were all his, but there were two different _hims_ and ....

"Ow." Great, now his head hurt worse. He opened is eyes to see two people looking at him. Both had... halos. Okay, correction. He opened his eyes to see two _angels_ looking at him.

Only... he knew one... "Namine?"

She smiled. "Good. Looks like your memories are intact. C'mon, you were the last to wake up."

The other one offered his hand. The newly deceased took it, and allowed the angel to pull him upright.

***#At the Atrium#***

Namine surveyed the collection of spirits that had once been known as Organization XIII.

Death had been kinder to some than others, but left a mark on each. Observing this, Namine rubbed at her upper arm, which was still a dull ache that would never go away.

See, when you died, you kept an aspect or two of _how_ you had died. So, if you got stabbed, you would still have the scar. Most other ails would have been 'healed' to a certain extent, however. That means that if you were arthritic, and got stabbed, you would have the scar, but no more arthritis.

Saix, for example, had managed to go through most of his life without regaining the scars that criss-crossed his face as a Nobody. But now they were there, the X an obvious mark of the wolf.

Likewise, Xigbar had scars all over from flying shrapnel, and was once again missing his eye.

Demyx's hair would now always be damp.

Zexion looked sleepy, and would probably never by completely awake again.

Vexen shivered, his nose slightly red, and seemed to keep close to Axel, who had burn marks below his eyes.

Roxas was also sticking close to Axel, close to whoever was nearest, really. He seemed to now need to be able to touch someone to feel safe.

Xaldin neck looked pretty bruised, and breathing seemed to be a little uncomfortable.

Luxord had a sizable dent in his skull, and appeared to have a headache.

Marluxia kept rubbing at his hand like it hurt.

Lexeaus just looked plain battered.

Larxene's hair stuck up oddly.

Xemnas looked like he was half in shock.

Kay, Role-call over.

"Alright, let's get started!" She called out. "No doubt you're wondering why you're here, but first I have to take questions. It's policy..."

Demyx tentatively raised a hand. "Where are we, exactly...?"

Namine's smile seemed far too cheerful for this kind of request. "You're at the Crossroads. It's where we sort people to make sure everyone gets sent to the right Eternity... or not so long, if they get reincarnated. Anyway, this place specifically is the Atrium of my divisions. Which is basically just me, Zack, and Rufus."

"So... shouldn't we be going somewhere, then? If we're dead and all." Marluxia scowled slightly as he reminded himself that, yes, he was indeed quite dead.

"Now... That's where it gets a little complicated. See, our division deals with what you might term 'Special Circumstances.' Such as you. Since you guys were Nobodies, there's some problems getting the process adjusted for you, so we're going to give you a job until we get it sorted out." Namine's smile was by now a bit forced. She didn't want to have to deal with this...

"Job?" Lexaeus was as straight to the point and monosyllabic as ever.

"Yep!" Zack called from wherever he had disappeared to. A few moments later, he reappeared, dragging a large box with various outlandish weapons. "Get ready for a crash course in 'How To Be A Guardian Angel!"

13 pointed gazes turned on Namine, demanding answers.

"Management does not particularly like us, as you can probably tell by the fact that there's only three of us. We've got a completely impossible deadline to get you guys on Earth and doing your jobs..." She glanced upward as she spoke, then stepped about a foot to the left.

The ground where she had been standing smoked. "Alright, alright..."

She motioned to Zack to give out the weaponry. "You all get back the weapons you used as Nobodies, so that'll be one less thing we need to teach you... You'll also sorta get your powers back, but there might be a few changes."

Namine waved a hand, and a chalkboard materialized behind her. She started writing, commenting as she went. Obviously, they were completely expected to remember this...

_Rules and Guidelines of Being a Guardian Angel_

_I. You are mostly invisible, inaudible, and intangible on Earth. Only your charge and other Angels can see you. _("That means that you cant' move anything. With some minor exceptions... Gravity also mostly doesn't apply. And be careful, some animals will be able to sense you...")

_II. You can only manipulate __your__ element. You may use your element to move other objects that you cannot directly touch._

_III. You must both protect your charge_ ("Physically, mentally, AND emotionally!") _and be a friend to them._ ("At very least, just get along.")

_IV. You must perform the Binding ceremony in order for any power to exist. _("Basically, if you don't Bind to your charge, you can't do anything.") Binding consists of the charge giving the Guardian a kiss on the cheek. ("Don't look at me like that! I didn't write the rules! Besides, it's just on the cheek. It could be worse.")

_V. You may not stray from your charge. _("There's not really an exact distance. It seems to be about shouting range.") _If your charge utters your name, you will return to their side._

"Everyone got that?" Nods of 'yes' were seen throughout the room.

"Alrighty, then. I'll give you your Assignments, and then we can go to Earth!"

After Namine arranged them in what had previously been their numerical order, she began.

"Xemnas." She fluttered up a bit so she was over his head, then waved her hands in a circle. A halo and wings appeared. "You are Assigned to Guard Ansem Wise. Your Element is Emotion."

"Xigbar." Again the circle, again the halo and wings. "You are Assigned to Guard Cid Highwind. Your Element is Space."

"Xaldin" Circle. Wings. Halo. You get the idea. "You are Assigned to Guard Squall Leonhart. Your Element is Air."

"Vexen" You know what? I'm not narrating this bit anymore. "You are Assigned to Guard Riku Kisaragi. Your Element is Ice."

"Lexaeus. You are Assigned to Guard Yuffie Kisaragi Your Element is Earth."

"Zexion. You are Assigned to Guard Kairi Flamma. Your Element is Dream."

"Saix. You are Assigned to Guard Ollette Delafloat. Your Element is Moon."

"Axel. You are Assigned to Guard Reno Flamma. Your Element is Fire."

"Demyx. You are Assigned to Guard Cloud Strife. Your Element is Water."

"Luxord. You are Assigned to Guard Vincent Valentine. Your Element is Time."

"Marluxia. You are Assigned to Guard Sora Strife. Your Element is Flora."

"Larxene. You are Assigned to Guard Tifa Lockhart. Your Element is Electricity."

"Roxas. You are Assigned to Gaurd Hayner Miles. Your Element is Light."

***#Chapter Two: End#***

So, there you have it. Yes, some of them may seem totally incompatible. Sometimes that was the point. Others, like Larxene and Tifa, are because I'm of the opinion that they would actually get along. Seriously, can't you see the two of them tormenting everyone?

Ollette and Hayner's last names were chosen completely at random. But 'Flamma' is Latin for 'fire.'

I think that's it...

Mistakes, questions, whatever... feel free to speak up!


	3. Chapter 3

Uh... sorry this took so long? I'm very easily distracted, and this is looooong. Long enough to single-chapter-edly double the word count of this entire story. O_O That won't happen again, I'm pretty sure. The plan from here on out is that I'll focus more on some characters than others, because they're more vital to the plot. For example, Xemnas and Prof. Ansem will probably only be mentioned in passing from here on out... unless they need to be interacting with someone somewhere.

Anyway, one of the main issues with this chapter was keeping it from getting repetative. (and if I didn't actually write them getting the kiss, please assume it happened. I probably got sidetracked.)

I get sidetracked a lot, sadly. I've been writing massive ammounts of stuff on dA, but it won't be here because it's mostly OCs / not really any fandom. Sorry... But I've got another fic coming, and I've started stalking and filling things for the LJ StrifeHart Meme (despite the fact that I have no LJ... _)

tl;dr - I suck, I get distracted, stuff gets writen, just not the stuff you wanted me to write.

Xion finally makes her appearance. Whoo!

PAIRINGS SO FAR - Riku/Sora, Leon/Cloud, Saix/Demyx, AND A CONFLICTION:

Okay, there's a pattern for this. Conflictions will equal me putting up a poll on my profile about that particular confliction. This one is AXEL/ROXAS OR AXEL/MARLUXIA. Please go vote. If you have no account and/or just like leaving anonymous/guest comments, you can tell me instead and I'll add it in my little notebook. Poll closes March 31st, winning pair will probably show up / at least sorta get mentioned in the next chapter.

But I'm still taking requests, so please, ask away~ I'm open to almost anything. There's a few I really don't like, but I'm pretty sure they won't pop up... and if they do, I might even give it a shot!

Disclaimer: hbananad does not own Kingdom Hearts. Tragically.

Okay, I'll shut up now! Here we go:

"Human Talking"

"_Supernatural Being talking" – (This typically means that it's limited as to who can hear them)_

***#Chapter Three: Why Hello There!#**

***#Saturday Morning#***

Sora – the upbeat, happy-go-lucky boy who was always there to cheer you up, even if you were a total stranger – was sad.

It wasn't a passing sad, either. Wasn't an 'Oh, the store's out of ice-cream' sad.

No, this was a 'My twin is dead. He's not coming back' kind of sad.

Maybe it would be better termed depression, or devastation. But really, would _you_ apply those words to Sora?

Ahem.

He sat in Roxas' room, on the monochromatic bed. Rox had always been fond of black and white, in severe contrast to Sora's preference for bright colors. It had always been like that. They were nearly polar opposites, but got along fabulously. Sora was outgoing and friendly, while Roxas was shy and moody.

The brunette stood up and walked over to the desk. There were neatly stacked folders, clearly labeld with class, period, and teacher, in various piles. Idly, Sora wondered if he should turn in his twin's homework, but quickly dismissed the notion.

His eye caught on a corner of red, nearly hidden under all of the manila folders. Carefully, so as not to disturb the filing system, he pulled it out.

It was a nice folder, really. The red was a brighter, cheerier than one might expect, given the rest of the room. What made it truly unusual was that it didn't feature one of the labels Roxas seemed so fond of. In fact, there was only one word, written in all caps.

'XION'

Sora had absolutely no idea what that meant. It sounded familiar, like he should remember it, but… nothing.

So he opened the folder. It was full of handwritten papers, edited in a vibrant red pen that nearly matched the folder. There were a lot of corrections, whole paragraphs had been slashed through, and there were notes all over the margins about how such and such a detail was wrong.

Closer inspection revealed that the pages were to a story. That was a bit of a surprise. The blonde had always done well in English, but he wasn't terribly fantasy inclined.

Sora sat back down on the bed and began to read.

***#A While Later#***

The last page finished, a spell seemed to break.

The story had been… unique. About hearts and not having them, magic and other worlds, memories and…

…Friendship. Abruptly, Sora remembered why 'Xion' seemed so familiar, both on the cover and in the story.

She had been Roxas' imaginary friend when they were little.

No wonder she had been one of his best friends in the story.

Sora had been in it, too. In short splashes and tidbits, hinting at a connection between the twins, and at a previous story. Kairi and Riku were there, as were a few of their other friends.

Still… the 'end' didn't sit right with him. There was no way it could be called complete. It was… it was like leaving a jigsaw puzzle missing a piece. It just felt wrong.

"_You could finish it for him, you know." _Commented an unfamiliar voice from beside him.

He jumped, and turned to find himself fact to face with a strange girl. Who most certainly hadn't been there a few moments ago.

"W-who are you?" He managed to after some oh-so-intelligent sputtering.

"_I'm Xion. Before you ask, I'm not really here. Technically, I guess, I'm a figment of your imagination. Roxas' imagination. Whatever. You're twins, so when he left, I ended up in your subconscious. I'm not sure how or why, though…"_

"Is that even possible? Transfer of imaginary friends sounds pretty unlikely…"

"_I have no idea. I think it might have something to do with you reading that." _She pointed to the story. "_So, will you finish it for him?"_

He actually gave the idea some serious thought. "… No. I don't think I will. I'll… write my side, maybe, but it just… it feels wrong to tamper with his writing."

She smiled warmly, apparently pleased with his answer. _"That's good. I think he'd like that. And… for what it's worth, so would I."_

Sora opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sora? Who are you talking to?" His older brother opened the door a crack, poking his head in.

"Huh? Oh, I was just…" He turned, only to be met with empty air where Xion had been. "Just thinking out loud, I guess."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. Sora was a terrible liar, but he wasn't about to tell him that. "Okay, then. Riku's downstairs, just so you know…"

"Kay!" Sora chirped, jumping off the bed, gathering all the papers as an afterthought. "I'll be right down."

The eldest Strife brother watched Sora bounce down the steps, noting what wouldn't be apparent to those who didn't know his sibling inside and out.

He didn't skip the last step. That was a sure sign that he was faking at least part of the cheeriness. Ever since he had been little, Sora always jumped over the last step. No one was quite sure why, except Roxas.

But now, the only one who would know was Sora.

***#Monday, After School#***

Hayner kicked at a rock, distracted, as he made his way home.

He felt… numb. He had done what he felt was far more than his fair share of crying at his best friends funeral the day before, and now he was completely emotionally drained.

He had gone through the day like a robot. Even Seifer hadn't been able to get a reaction out of him Privately, though; Hayner felt he hadn't really been trying, perhaps attempting to be considerate about Roxas.

He kicked the rock harder, sending it flying away from him, scowling at the ground.

"_Ow."_

Startled, the boy looked up, ready to apologize if it was an adult or a friend, make a sarcastic remark if it was Seifer. But as he made eye contact, he was ended up completely speechless. Chocolate brown eyes were met with a pair of impossibly blue ones.

Roxas was standing in front of him, whole and complete, none of the bruises that had been on his face at the funeral apparent.

This couldn't be real. He was **dead**, Hayner had seen the body, had watched them bury the casket. Read the obituary. _Had freaking thrown flowers on the grave._ There was no way that his friend could be here. Alive.

Always one to speak his mind, he said as much.

Roxas only laughed at him "_I'm not alive. I'm very much dead. See?"_ Still giggling a little, He pointed at the halo perched atop his spikes, and then waved his hand through the wall to drive his point home.

"Then why…?"

A shrug. _"Apparently, I'm now your Guardian Angel. Congratulations."_

"…O-Kay then. What's the catch? My best friend doesn't just suddenly return from the dead to be 'my guardian angel' without something being up."

"_Erm."_ The angel squirmed a little. "_In order from me to actually be able to do anything… you kinda have to kiss me."_

Seeing the reaction this statement caused (namely, gaping like a fish) he amended the statement. "_Only on the cheek! And no, I don't get it, either."_

After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Hayner finally managed to say something. "…. Can anyone else see you? Or am I just talking to air from their point of view?"

"_Uh, you're talking to air. Sorry. I'm sure there's some sort of way I could make them see me, but that's not going to happen without use of my power. Which I don't have until you kiss me."_

... Shoot. There wasn't really a nice way out of it.

"Fine. But not out here. I probably look stupid enough talking to the air as it is, without kissing someone who's not there."

Another shrug. "_Sounds fair. So, what's happened since… since I died?"_

The two continued onto Hayner's house, chatting like nothing had happened. Ignoring the fact that Roxas was, in fact, floating, and had passed through a few mailboxes.

***#Monday Morning#***

Vincent ran down the street, cursing his luck, and technology in general.

Seriously. His day had been terrible. And it was all the fault of technology.

First, his alarm had failed to go off. Then, the coffee machine refused to make anything remotely like coffee. The result was more like the mud you find on the bottom of rocks. His car wouldn't start, so he was stuck walking. Well, running.

Oh. And the toaster had exploded.

All of this added up into one fact:

Vincent Valentine was late. He was never late, not in all his years of teaching. Barely on time, occasionally, but never _late._

The wind, purely to spite him further, picked up and sent his papers flying to the ground. You know. **The ones he had stayed up late to grade.**

As he knelt to collect hem, another person started to help.

"Ah, thank y…" The teacher trailed off as he looked up and saw wings fluttering on the stranger's back.

"_No, problem, luv."_ A British accent cheerfully responded. _"It looks like you could use a little more time, though."_

"Um." Was really all he could manage at the moment.

"_I could arrange that, you know. Time. After all, what is it to the dead?"_

"You're… an angel?" Yes, Vincent, good job, sound like a **complete moron.**

"_Of course, luv. More specifically, I'm __**your**__ Guardian Angel." _Wings fluttered slightly as he shuffled the papers into a slightly neater pile. "_However, why are you conversing with me when you should so obviously be getting to your classroom?"_

"… I'm running late." Class only started in about, oh, a minute, maybe a minute and a half.

"_Yes, luv, I can see that quite clearly. Now, would you like that extra time or not?"_

Vincent examined him carefully. He didn't **look** terribly suspicious… "I don't know your name."

"_Really? So you don't. Silly of me. I'm Luxord." _He extended his hand._ "And I already know that you're Vincent. Which, as a matter of fact, is all they told me about you. So you'll excuse me if I mess something up, yes?"_

"Alright then. So, if you don't mind, I **am** running late…"

"_Easily fixed. However… there are rules to this position, you see, and while I __**do**__ have the element of Time… alas, I cannot do anything without you kissing me on the cheek. I'm terribly sorry."_

He blinked blankly. "… What?"

"_It's some sort of ceremony nonsense, you see. _

"Oh." Said Vincent, even though he really didn't see at all.

Nevertheless... it couldn't do any harm. And it could be worse.

He looked both ways, to make sure there was no one there to see him make a fool of himself.

There wasn't. He leaned over and gently kissed Luxord on the cheek.

A glow seemed to brighten from somewhere for a moment, but it soon vanished.

The angel snapped his fingers, and time stopped.

***#Monday: Lunch Period#***

Ollette sighed. Hayner was off moping somewhere, not that she could really blame him, and she had sent Pence to go find Hayner some time ago.

That left her alone on the roof. It was odd to eat lunch in peace and quiet, without the boys around.

She had known Hayner and Pence since pre-school. Roxas had joined their group in third grade, when he and his family moved to Hollow Bastion. The four of them were inseparable. And now... now they were separated. Roxas was gone, and that had hit them hard. A building's weak foundation had been all it took to break them apart.

She sighed again. It was…. Lonely. Before, she had never been totally alone. There was always someone around, messing with something. She had three brothers, and there was always someone around. It had become natural.

But her brother were off at college, Roxas was… Roxas was gone, Hayner was who-knows-where, and she had sent Pence to find him. Which left her well and truly alone.

"_Excuse me, but are you Ollette?"_ Or not so alone, as the case may be. She turned around to see an intimidating looking man, with an X-shaped scar in between his eyes standing and looking very out of place.

It took her a few moments to realize that he looked out of place because he had wings and a halo, and was currently not touching the ground.

"U-um… yes?" She stammered eloquently. "May I help you?"

The man fidgeted a little. He looked… almost embarrassed. _"I'm fairly certain your not going to believe me, but… My name is Saix. I'm, uh… I'm your Guardian Angel."_

She stared for a moment. Scary-looking people don't usually just appear out of nowhere and announce that they're in fact your Guardian Angel. Even if they have wings and a halo and are floating.

But Ollette's mother had always been very big on manners, and manners included recovering quickly from shocks brought on by things like people saying they were angels.

"Oh. Um… Nice to meet you?" Manners also included polite greetings at all times. Including to celestial beings.

Saix examined her for a moment. _"You seem to be taking this rather well. I expected screaming or fainting."_

"Well, yes, but… old habits die hard?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

In any case, the angel seemed to accept that. _"Do you mind if I sit down?"_

"I don't see why not…"

"_Thank you."_

They sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Ollette broke it tentatively.

"So… what exactly does a guardian angel do?"

He hesitated before answering. "_I'm… not entirely certain. From what I have gathered, I am to keep you safe and happy, to make sure you don't get hurt. I think."_

"Seems like a fair answer. What's my end of the bargain?" Receiving a confused look, she elaborated. "It seems unreasonable, even for angels, to just up and pick someone specific to guard without the person their guarding having to do a thing."

"_Ah. Well, I didn't decide, really. I died, and then apparently there was trouble processing my death, so I ended up as a Guardian while they figure it out. They had matches picked out already. But… the only thing that it requires from you is a kiss on the cheek, to seal the bond between angel and human."_

"That's all?" A nod in return. "Okay, then." She leaned over and pecked him gently on the cheek.

For just a moment, the air around them glowed gold.

***#Monday: sometime around 5:30-ish in the morning#***

Kairi looked around the dream. She could tell that it was a dream, because in real life, people couldn't just hang around in space and survive.

But that was what she was doing. It was like floating in the middle of a planetarium, actually. She could recognize a few constellations, and several asteroids bobbed around.

Poking one gingerly revealed that they were solid enough, so she sat carefully. Examining the other asteroids, she finally noticed she wasn't alone. A boy sat on another asteroid, calmly staring at the stars.

"Um… hello?"

He turned toward her, as if just noticing that she was there. _"Good… morning, I believe it is. In the waking world, in any case. Here it could be any time you would like it to be. How does half past five sound?"_

"That sounds fine. Uh… if you don't mind me asking, who are you? And why are you in my dream?"

A slightly puzzled frown graced his features for a moment, before turning to understanding. _"Ah. Of course, how rude of me. My name is Zexion, and I am the mythical winged creature, generally categorized in the Christian faith as the lowest of the nine celestial orders, charged with your health and general well-being."_

"… You're what?"

"I'm your guardian angel."

"Oh." Kairi took a (metaphorical) moment to process this information. "So… why are you in my dream?"

Zexion shrugged. _"After weighing the positives against the negatives for various forms of introduction, I determined that super-imposing myself over the typical series of images and thoughts that occur during your REM sleep period would prove the least detrimental to your psyche."_

She stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that? With smaller words?"

"I changed your dream to avoid you 'flipping out' as I told you about this." Another shrug. "Though it seems your sub consciousness is quite ready to accept the news, so perhaps I shouldn't have bothered…"

"Alright then. Now what?"

"Insofar as I can gather, there is a 'binding ceremony' that does not appear to be much of a ceremony at all, having little to no pomp and some actual purpose. Then I receive the questionable pleasure of observing you and insuring that you come to no harm, until paperwork is in order and I may attain my afterlife – whatever that might be."

"… There's a ceremony, you need to keep me from getting hurt, and then you get to go… somewhere. Is that right?" The redhead was fairly sure she had gotten it all, but wasn't certain about the relevance of the ceremony. Or what the ceremony was for that matter.

"Correct."

"Ah." A few moments – or what could have been moments elsewhere, as time does not exist in dreams – later, she found what was bothering her about this. "What is this ceremony, anyway?"

"The so-called 'formal procedure' constitutes of the contact of your labia oris to my buccaes to attain a meta-physical connection between us."

That one took a few seconds (or not-seconds, because I think you've gotten the point now that TIME IS NOT RELEVANT IN DREAMS.) and some mental review of past anatomy classes to translate. "I have to kiss you on the cheek?"

"In so many words, yes."

There was yet another pause as she absorbed this new piece of knowledge. "Wouldn't I need to be awake for that?"

"I do not believe it truly matters, given my element. Nevertheless, waking would most likely be advisable."

Kairi blinked…

… and opened her eyes in her room. She cautiously sat up. "A… dream?"

"Strictly speaking, yes it was." She knew that voice…

"Zexion? So it wasn't a dream, then."

"Yes it was. Were you not listening? Just because I… commandeered it does not make it any less of one." He perched quite calmly on the end of her bed, looking exactly like he did in the dream, but with wings. And a halo.

She took a (real this time) second to gather her thoughts, then crawled to the foot of the bed and gingerly kissed him on the cheek.

A glow lit up the room for a moment, and then her alarm went off.

***#Monday: Evening#***

Yuffie scowled at the paper in front of her. Stupid, unreasonable, moody teachers who gave out essay assignments like… like they were candy! She had better things to do, it was… okay, so it was Monday, and she really didn't have anything better to do. Sleep, maybe.

Though, the assignment it self was a little odd for her supremely booooring and serious English teacher.

"Do you believe in spirits? Explain your theory in exactly 750 words." The teen muttered darkly. "Hah. Since when has Valentine given out an assignment like this? Usually it's a 10,000 word report on the structure of poetry, or something else as boring as he can make it."

She kicked off the desk and spun around in her chair, still frowning. "The one assignment that has the promise to be actually entertaining, and I can't think of anything." Mostly because while she did believe in spirits, it was more of a 'Hey, that'd be cool!' belief, rather than thinking they existed. They were… they were fairy tales, right?

"Hah. Duped by a stupid English paper. Me, the Great Ninja Yuffie!" She declared loudly to her empty room, as Riku walked by the door.

"That's nice. Can the 'great ninja' keep it down? Some of us are trying to study for that chem. test tomorrow…"

The shorter stuck her tongue out at her adoptive brother. He simply rolled his eyes and continued to his room next door.

Deciding to carry on the nice chat she was having with the furniture, Yuffie continued. "And anyway, I've got no proof either way. What does he want me to do? Show that the polio vaccine was in direct correlation to the pixies appearing in people's dreams? Yeah, right…"

"Theories aren't fact."

"True, they're not. But I'd feel better having some, anyway." She paused a second, then realized something. "Wait a sec… the room's not supposed to answer back!"

"Then it's a good thing it hasn't." Looking around, she finally noticed the large man sitting on her floor. Why she hadn't seen him before she didn't know. He was certainly hard to miss, and the room wasn't that big…

"Who're you, and why are you in my room?" Like any self-respecting teenager, Yuffie was fully capable of going from reasonable to demanding within nano-seconds, a tactic she was now fully employing.

"I'm your Guardian Angel, Lexeaus. It's nice to meet you."

It took Yuffie exactly 2.65701 seconds to take in this information. And then she was off into 'hyper-mode,' as Riku had not-so-affectionately dubbed it. "!" This massive, run-on sentence with utterly no grammar structure was all said rather loudly and all in one breath, and ended with the ninja poking his halo curiously. It **was** shiny, after all, and she loved shiny things, and…

Okay, tangent over.

Yuffie had at some point during her sentence plopped down on the floor, and now sat beaming up at the slightly shocked angel.

"Er, yes?"

***#Monday: Still Evening#***

Riku shook his head as he heard his (adoptive, there was no WAY he would ever even want to be biologically related to her) sister fall off her spiny chair. Or perhaps she jumped off, you could never tell with Yuffie.

He turned back to the textbook and papers lying open on his desk, determined to memorize at least enough of the periodic table to pass his test.

"Gold is Au, Silver is Ag, Helium is He, Chlorine is Cl, Potassium is… uh…"

"Potasium is K."

Startled, the silverette spun around to see a man with long blonde hair seated delicately on the edge of his (unmade) bed.

"Uh…" There was probably something more intelligent he could have said. Sadly, Riku was at a blank for what it might be.

"Potasium. It's K. Not that hard to remember…"

"… who are you?"

"Apologies. I'm Vexen, your Guardian Angel." Vexen, seeing the perplexed look he was given, wisely chose to elaborate. "There was a mix up in… wherever you go when you die. So here I'm stuck with you until they figure it out."

"…" Riku stared for a few more seconds, then winced as Yuffie's voice came loud and clear through the wall that separated their rooms. She was in full hyper mode, and it carried very well.

Vexen, however, seemed to take this much more calmly. "It seems she has met Lexeaus… I would say she approves."

"Wait, so… Yuffie has one, too?" That wasn't good. She'd just rope the poor guy into every scheme she came up with.

A nod. "Indeed. There were 13 of us involved in the mix up, you see…"

***#Monday: Right After the Morning Coffee Rush#***

"Why can't people be neater with their coffee?" Tifa grumbled to herself and continued to tidy up the counter that was covered in spilled coffee, milk, sugar, and fake-sugar, as well as various cups, napkins, and tea bags that had apparently missed the trashcan.

"I'm not sure. Probably because they're complete morons."

"Yeah, I guess…" She turned to see a blonde woman sitting cross-legged on one of the tables. "Can I help you with something?"

"Hmmm…? Oh, no, I don't need anything. I'm dead."

"…"

The blonde frowned. "That didn't sound right. Er, it works like this… I died, they didn't know where to put me and a few others, so we got sent back here as Guardian Angels. I'm yours. My name's Larxene, by the way."

"… erm." Tifa gave her a confused look. "Does this require anything from me…?"

The angel's laughter was nothing like the steriotyical 'angelic bells' or anything. Rather, it was more of an evil cackle. Hardly 'angelic,' but it fit her. "Just a kiss on the cheek. According to them, anyway."

"Alright then. I'll give you your kiss if you'll help me clean this up." A hand thrown in a sweeping arc gestured to the general mess that had been made out of the small café.

"So long as it's something I can manipulate in this world, sure."

***#Monday: Breakfast#***

Reno muttered darkly to himself as he buttered his toast, cursing whoever decided that school should begin 'bright and early' at 8:15. Well, it was early, but his mood was anything but 'bright.' He hated mornings, and this mindset was hardly aided by his younger sister being such a damned morning person.

Speaking of, she was… talking to herself?

"Kairi? Heeeeeeelllllllooooooo~ Earth to Kairi." He waved his hand in front of her gaze, breaking her concentration on the empty spot of air. She blinked and glared at him in response.

"What?"

"You were talking to yourself. I find that kinda creepy and a cause for official older brother intervention."

"No…" the younger Flamma sibling glanced back at the spot she'd been talking to. "Is it against the rules to tell him? … Well, no, but… 'kay. Reno, Zexion says that Axel should introduce himself first."

"… who?"

"Me." Spinning on his heel brought Reno face to face with another redhead who sported, in addition to matching burn scars under his eyes, wings and a halo. "Name's Axel, got it memorized?"

His disbelief slowly morphed into a smirk. "Sure."

***##***

Cid scowled as he poked at the sad excuse for model rocket a senior had produced. "Dunno why they bother takin' t' class, if they ain't gonna make anything that'll work… pro'lly won't even make it five feet in the air…"

"I give it three. The guides are all screwed up, thing's gonna spin around in circles till it runs out of fuel."

"Dam' straight." A pause. "Wait, who…?"

"Up here, dude."

The blonde teacher glanced toward the ceiling, only to nearly fall out of his seat at the sight of a one-eyed man sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce, upside-down, with a pair of feathery wings and a glowing ring of light over (under?) his head.

"Who t' hell are ya?"

For some reason, this earned him a grin. "Yo, dude. I'm your Guardian Angel, Xigbar."

"… Ya wanna come down from there so I don't kill my neck looking at ya?"

There was a small noise and Xigbar was sitting on a desk instead. "Better?"

"Much. Now… what're ya doin' here?"

***#Monday: Right After the Final Bell#***

Ansem sighed and rubbed at his temples. He loved working here, he kept telling himself that, but… did high school students have to be so loud?

Apparently the answer was yes, as the hallways were filled with the melody of slamming lockers, screaming students, not-quite-screaming teachers trying to be heard, the bang of dropped book-bags, stomping feet, and the general chaos that all schools produce as people go home.

"Isn't it against policy to play a tuba in the halls?" A calm voice inquired from above his head.

"Yes. That hasn't stopped them yet, though."

Hold on, what? The principal of Radiant Garden High turned around in his swivel chair to see a man with silver hair behind his desk. Floating behind his desk. With wings. And a halo.

Either not noticing or disregarding the sudden awkwardness, he simply continued talking. "Have you tried maintaining control by using examples?"

"Well, no, but… Excuse me, but who are you?"

This statement was rewarded by a few seconds of a blank stare before the… angel replied. "I'm you Guardian Angel. My name is Xemnas."

"Oh, well, alright then. To the previous question, it's sadly illegal here. Any other ideas?"

***#Monday: 6:30am#***

Cloud rolled over and turned off his blaring alarm clock, fully intending to wait a few minutes before actually getting out of bed.

It was not to be, though, as his precious minutes of peace were interrupted by a tall blonde with one of strangest hairstyles he'd seen in a long time. And that sadly included the time that Sora had lost a bet and been forced to dye his hair pink, blue, and green.

"Hi there? You're Cloud right? Cuz you have to be cuz otherwise you couldn't see me and your staring at me so you **can** see me so hi Cloud!" After a thoughtful pause, the outlandish person offered his hand. "I'm Demyx."

It was a few more moments before the poor senior had recovered his voice enough to respond. "Hi?"

"Oh, right, they didn't tell you all, just us. Anyway, I'm your Guardian Angel, because they didn't know where to send me when I died or something, and so I have to protect you and stuff and we should be friends and I think Namine said all you had to do was kiss me on the cheek!" He considered what he had said for a moment before nodding in conformation with himself.

"… I don't get a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" came the cheerful reply. "Don't worry, it's gonna be fun!"

"I'm sure."

***#Monday: Lunch Period#***

"Cloud?" At his name, the blonde looked over, one eyebrow raised in a silent question. "You okay? You've been looking over your shoulder all day."

"You noticed?"

"… yes." Leon frowned. Of course he had noticed. They didn't talk a whole lot, so it was easy to tell when the other was bothered or preoccupied (or anything else, really) simply due to years of practice at non-verbal communication.

"Er…" And there, the tenseness of his shoulders. He was uncertain, didn't know if he was allowed to explain something.

Cloud stiffened abruptly, as if listening to someone. "… Leon's got one, to?"

The other senior's frown deepened at this. "I've got what?"

"Demyx, shut up." Leon looked up from his place on the grass beneath the large oak they usually sat by to see a large man with black braids and sideburns that had to be living beings in their own right, calmly floating in the air, braids moving in a non-existent breeze. "Sorry. I'm Xaldin."

He shot a look at Cloud, who shrugged. "Don't look at me. You can only see your own Guardian Angel. Though Demyx says he's some guy named Xaldin."

"… what the hell is going on here?"

"Well, for one reason or another, the Afterlife decided we didn't quite belong anywhere, and sent us back here. Your friend there has Demyx as his Guardian, just as I am yours."

Leon groaned. He could tell that this school year was going to be even more complicated than usual.

Good thing it was the last one.

***#Monday: Dinner#***

"Hey, Cloud? Can I be excused? I have some English work to finish…" At his older sibling's carelessly waved hand, Sora shot upstairs to his room.

He'd taken the folder from Roxas's room, and it now had a special place on his desk, one that he vowed would not get messed up. He wanted to try to start writing his part of the story, see what would happen. So really, he was sorta telling the truth when he said he had 'some English work to finish.' It just wasn't actually for English class.

"Xion?"

"Yes?" She appeared. Well, she didn't really appear so much as that she'd already been there and just now became visible.

"Was there anyone else with us at dinner? Mom and Dad are still on their trip, but he seemed like he was distracted by someone."

"Well…"

"There was someone. His name's Demyx, you just can't see him." That wasn't Xion's voice. Frowning, Sora turned to see a man with pink (though he seemed to pull it off pretty well, without looking overly feminine) hair sitting half in and half out of his open window, examining the leaves on the tree that was just outside the room. "He's your brother's Guardian Angel, and I'm yours. I'm Marluxia, it's nice to meet you."

"Uh… hi? Wait, can the two of you see each other?"

There was a chorus of "yes" from the other two, and Sora groaned, flopping down on his bed. "These have been the weirdest few days **ever.**"

Xion giggled at that. "I'm sure it can only get odder from here."

"I'm afraid I must agree with you there, dear." Marluxia called from his perch on the windowsill. "After all, you now have your twin's imaginary friend and a Guardian Angel, as well as the fact that there's 11 others besides you and your brother who also have Angels."

A theatrical sigh came from the boy on the bedspread (decorated with tropical fish) "And to think two weeks ago I was worried that my math teacher was going to be another creepy guy…"

***#End:ChapterThree#***

Aaaaand that's it for chapter three! Next chapter will... come eventually? I've learned not to make promises. It shouldn't take two months this time though.

Please remember to vote for a pairing, and note that I'm totally still taking requests. Probably will continue requests until the very last chapter, even!


End file.
